jerkbait

Never had a problem with their stuff coming off while banging silver buddy baits around rockpiles and zebra mussel Sold thousands of them also and no returns. I fish Erie 5 or 6 times a year and never go out without at least one rod rigged with a blade! Let me know how they turn out and maybe we can do a bait swap or I will buy a few from you. I have a trip coming up in october. Good Luck

Have used Spectrum Metal coating from Minn. on blade baits and they are reasonable and quick. They have done lots as small as 100 for me in the past. Gold will run around $0.38 per but call for quote. Family run business. http://spectrummetalfinishing.com/

Here is a good place to start http://http://www.rodbuilding.org/photopost/showphoto.php/photo/4330/size/medium/cat/507/page/1

NRR If you have one you really like there are plenty of us that can make a mold from it and pour you some. Not a great big deal. Jerk

I did a thru-wire version of the Bull-dawg bait. From the front nose loop, the 1/16" wire went thru a swivel in the belly of the bait and was epoxied in the at the tail. Twisted it on a bolt to get the spring look and threaded the soft tail on. I really didnt need fish-n-glue but I put some on anyway. Fished is some in heavy weeds and had no issues with pull offs. jerk

It looks like the salt water SS in x9256 http://http://www.lurenet.com/productdetail.aspx?id=7291 Take a little phase change createx, looks like violet to me and viola. Over the foils it looks kinda pink.

I have been using it for about a year and even though I still route the edges of big baits, I no longer hand sand anything. I put about 10 psi in mine and use a drill press to spin it. The center of the drum will deflect as little or as much as I need to get a good rounded back on baits up to 1.5" thick. Small stuff as mentioned, I dont even rough I just hit both sides, then top and bottom and it is off to sealer. The center deflects more than the ends of the drum so you can either vary the amount of pressure or use the edges to get less radius. I saw a guy on TV making skateboard decks out of ash and he could get a perfect round edge with one pass on each side of the deck. I would be glad to throw up a picture but it may take me a while to get to it. Jerk!

http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=47287&cat=1,42500 Here is a little tool that will work in a drill press or small drill or air tool. You can adjust the air perssure to deflect as much or little as needed for perfect radii. I use a laminate trimmer to roundover the bigger baits but on small bass sized stuff in basswood, I just chuck this in the drill press and do all the shaping in a mater of seconds. Jerk!

Many of us use flux brushes to spread epoxy. To keep the hairs firmly in place, crimp them in with your round nosed pliers before using. This little tech. has really cut down on the amount of hairs I have to pick out of my top-coat. One more: When using plumbers epoxy to fill holes, have your alcohol handy. Dip your finger in rubbing alcohol and rub the surface of the patch till smooth. It almost eliminates sanding after it sets up.

Hey FF I make a bunch of stuff that takes big shots of lead and used to pour right into the body of the bait. To keep it more uniform I now melt lead in my pot or just use a spoon and a torch. Then I pour it in molds made in hardwood by drilling various depths with forstners. The are perfect size when you put then in and have a very low center of gravity. They also require less fill. That way I am not worried about drilling too deep. Once you get the weight of a prototype it is easy to replicate. The burt baits want to roll too much if the lead is very high in the bait.

I assume it is a spinning rod and the most common seat is a 16mm. That is the inside measurement of the tube. You can get pretty close to the right dimension without taking it apart by measuring the outside of the tube. I would suggest calling mudhole or fishtix and telling them what you are trying to do. They are fit from the top end and reamed to fit snug as you slide them down. You can get by with taking the rear grip off and then the seat but it will have to be filled with epoxy to fill the gaps under the seat. Maybe send a picture and we can help a little more. jerk

If you mean the nut that tightens the hood, It could be fixed by grooving it with a triangle file and wrapping it with tying thread and coating with epoxy. Be sure to grease the treads underneath to prevent the epoxy from sealing to them. I have gotten by before by using copper tying wire to hold a nut closed aroung the reel seat threads, even used a zip tie once on an old flyrod. Replacing it would likely mean taking some or most of the guides off to slide the new nut or seat in place. Jerk

Here is what I got. It is a batson blank 7' med fast taper. The seat is turned acrylic and cobra hoods [ATTACH][/ATTACH]with epoxy ramp up front and a split cork rear grip with inletted fish sekeleton.

I just got a D-shot rod made by a buddy on River Smallies.. DR made me a beauty and I will send you the specs and a picture if you want to see it. Jerk